The University of North Carolina chooses to suspend Mary Willingham

UNC trying to bury Mary???

from www.wralsportsfan.com:

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Mary Willingham – the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill adviser who claims the UNC system is failing to help student-athletes receive an education – says the university has suspended her research privileges.

Willingham works in the UNC Center for Student Success and Academic Counseling, and from 2003 to 2010, she helped athletes in the Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes.

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6 thoughts on “The University of North Carolina chooses to suspend Mary Willingham

  1. I listened to this lady on the radio yesterday while in Durham. She made some extremely interesting points and did not back down from her data. From my experience working with kids and their parents, I know for a fact that many of these schools are “paper mills” when it comes to many of these players. I would also suggest that our own local public school system does the exact same process. The same process allows players like Mr Summers from Page a few years ago to occur more than many people realize. In the end, we are failing all of these kids (mostly young black males) but young ladies and others can also fall into this trap.
    College’s nor our local school system should be pushing these kids through the system without a clear process to provide an education that will allow kids/players to competitive/productive pieces of the community. The sad part is that their are far too many parents in our communities willing to accept this fate for their kids simply because their kid is playing and “getting” through the system. Nobody is winning with this process and we are pushing these kids into a life of continuous serve to others instead of creating their own opportunity. I realize some kids/players will develop later than others and figure it out but the majority will not figure it out on their own.

  2. It is unfair and unnecessary to name specific athletes in your response. You don’t know the details of the individual kid’s education and making assumptions about it and then calling the kid out by name is unfair to him and his school.

  3. James Summers is doing his best right now to get his work in order and he was hoping to be able to meet with the North Carolina coaches in early January and he will still have to have other schools in mind too…

    James would still love to attend the University of North Carolina and we supPort HIM in his goal to get there and I know all of the coaches and teachers at Page support him too…

    If any mistakes were made they were not intentional and for sure they had to be a part of the overall process that the teachers and staff are called upon to carry out…

    Maybe it is the overall process at all of these high schools and colleges that needs to re-evaluated, but that comes from within the system at the top, with those that set up and lay down the requirements and guidelines….Those that the last say and call the shots..

    The teachers and professors for the most part are just doing their job and are following orders from a higher power/leader….

    The overhaul must come from the top with the administrators and the superintendent and the chancellor…They have to know what is going on and all the teachers and professors know is what they are told to follow within the guidelines….

    Tougher standards must they come from the top….There is so much turnover at the top positions, I don’t know how they ever have the time to know what went on before they got there and how are they going to properly correct those problems???

  4. These student athletes are held to a higher standard than the traditional student. Andy, as you well know, they spend hours before and after school practicing, working out and training in addition to their general school work load and organizations. Those hours are tremendously filled with work. The traditional student can come home, relax, do their work and relax again after doing it. I know for a fact, staying up until 1-2 a.m. doing schoolwork and staying at school for 12 hours, then doing any additional activity is hard for anyone, let alone the students that may not have the same IQ as the valedictorian. That’s in traditional high school. Once they begin to make millions for the NCAA, it’s beyond a full time job. Not that classes should make allowances, but something has to give! They can’t earn money, take money or gifts like any other college kid, but the university profits on their back. It’s horrible how they are left without an education and most times any future in athletics beyond college. Mary Willingham gave insight to what we already know. UNC is not alone. The NCAA should re-evaluate their guidelines all around.

  5. SSA you bring up some real good points and when I have a little more time I will hit this in more detail….Need to get by another school myself…

  6. @unfair.. You are correct in general that it is unfair to call a kid out on this issue versus the many other kids that could have been named. He obviously was a high performing player in the area that I knew had falling into the middle of this concern. The basic problem that too many don’t pay attention to is how many of these “star” players actually make it to college and “actually” graduate with a degree of any type. Too many people are concerned about calling a kid, their care taker and their school out instead of dealing with the real issue to using kids to simply entertain us instead of doing what is right for the life of these players. So, we are willing as a society to spend 12 years locally educating (or not) kids that cannot even meet NCAA requirements which are already low. Just so you know, I do spend a lot of time working with kids in the community and focusing on these very issues. I believe in it and I always tell kids that your work, performance, and whatever you do will follow you for life. It will be up to you to fix or set your self up for success. I am proud to hear and read about all of the work Mr Summers has been doing to correct the past. I hope he can come back to our community and share that experience and what he may have done differently with young “super stars” still in middle school. His longer road could serve as a huge benefit to other that may not even know his name. Keep pushing Mr Summers and make sure the story is one of a young man that did not give up. The system failed this young man and I am glad he did not allow that system to define his future.

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